Company Merge
Gainsight NXT
This article describes how admins can use the Company Merge feature, and its impact on other applications in Gainsight.
Overview
When a company is acquired or merged with another company, there is a need to update the relevant records to reflect the change. Furthermore, the presence of duplicate records of the same company result in inaccurate reporting, rule failures, and erroneous tracking of tasks.
The Company Merge feature tackles situations such as these, and helps admins merge records from the respective Company object and combine their data into a single master record.
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IMPORTANT: Company Merge cannot automatically merge company records, or identify the need to merge. However, the Data Steward feature recommends some duplicate company records that should be merged. For more information about how Data Steward processes data, refer to the Identify Company Duplicates article. |
Limitations:
- This feature can only merge two companies at a time.
- Company Merge cannot merge companies with different base currencies.
Note: If two Account records are merged in Salesforce, the corresponding company records in Gainsight must be merged by the admin manually.
IMPORTANT: If you are completing a Company Merge to match SFDC data after an Account merge, it is important to select the Company associated with the Master Salesforce Account as your Master Company. Not doing so results in a merged company that is not associated with the merged Salesforce Account.
Key Terms
The following are some key terms associated with the Company Merge feature:
- Master company: The company selected as the primary record in the Company Merge is the master company. All of the data from the other company record is merged into this company.
- Secondary company: The company that is not selected as the master record in a Company Merge is the secondary company. All of the data from this record is merged into the master company.
Precautions
The following information should be considered before initiating a Company Merge:
- The Company Merge process is a permanent action and cannot be undone.
- Post the merge, assets from the secondary company cannot be identified with their source company. All the merged data is associated only with the master company.
- Post the merge, the secondary company and the underlying data associated with it no longer exists.
Access Company Merge
You can access the Company Merge feature from the following pages:
Access Company Merge from Data Management
To merge the records of two companies using the Data Management page:
- Navigate to Administration > Customer Data > Data Management.
- From the Objects tab, select the Company object.
Note: You can use the search or filter options to find the required Company object. - Click the Data tab.
- Select the checkboxes beside each record that need to be merged.
- Click the Company Merge icon. The Company Merge page appears.
Note: The Company Merge icon is only available when you select two records.
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In the Company Merge page, proceed with merging the records of the master and secondary companies. For more information on how to merge the records, refer to the Company Merge section of this article.
Access Company Merge from Company
In addition to the Data Management page, you can alternatively also merge company records from the Company page in Gainsight. To access the Company Merge feature:
- Navigate to Administration > Customer Data > Company.
- Click the DATA OPERATIONS tab.
- Select the checkboxes beside each record that need to be merged.
- Click Merge.
Note: The Merge option is only available when you select two records.
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In the Company Merge page, proceed with merging the records of the master and secondary companies. For more information on how to merge the records, refer to the Company Merge section of this article.
Company Merge
The Company Merge page helps you merge records from the Company object and combine their data into a single master record.
To merge two companies:
- Select the master company. This company retains its GSID, whereas the secondary company is merged into the master record.
Note: If you want to merge Company records with corresponding SFDC Account records, select the Company that corresponds with the Master SFDC Account as your master record. - (Optional) To view all fields, select the Show All Fields option. By default, only fields with different values are displayed for the companies.
- Select the Fields that should be retained in the master company.
- Click the Select All checkbox to to use the values of all fields from one of the merged records.
- (Optional) For number fields, select the Aggregation Type field. This helps aggregate the data between two number or currency fields, instead of selecting the data from one field for the Master company. The available aggregation options are as follows:
- SUM: Sum of the two values added together.
- MIN: Minimum value of the field between the two records.
- MAX: Maximum value of the field between the two records.
- AVG: Average of the two values.
This option is useful when the values contained in a number or currency field for one Company do not overlap with the other Company.
Consider a scenario where two companies are merged due to an acquisition. In the Company object for each company, the Employees field for each record represents different sets of people. Hence, it would be beneficial to aggregate the Employees fields as a sum, rather than selecting the value from one field over the other.
- Click Merge to initiate the Company Merge. The Merge Companies popup appears that displays the implications of the merge action.
- Read through all the statements and provide your consent by clicking the corresponding checkboxes.
- Click Confirm.
Company Merge History
In the Company Merge History page, admins can view the history of every Company Merge initiated within their org. It displays detailed records of how the Company data has changed over the time.
To view the Company Merge History:
- Navigate to Administration > Customer Data > Data Management.
- Click the Activity tab.
- From the Update Activity dropdown, select Company Merge History.
The Company Merge History section appears that displays all the company merges that were carried out in your organization. The information provided for each log is as follows:
- Start Time
- End Time
- Merged Companies
- Status
- Merged By
You can search for specific logs by Merged Companies, Status, or Merged By parameters. You can also use the Activity Date, Object, or Operation Type filters to narrow down your search.
To view detailed information, expand a specific log. The Log Summary appears, displaying a list of every object and module that either updated successfully or failed during the Company Merge.
Impacts of Company Merge Feature
The impact of Company Merge on each module is detailed below. You can also review a summary of the impact in the following table:
| Product Area | Impact |
|---|---|
| Timeline, Cockpit & Success Plans | All Timeline entries, CTAs, and Success Plans will be moved to the Master Company. |
| C360 |
Only C360 of the Master Company will be accessible. |
| Relationships | The Secondary Company relationships will be moved to the Master Company. |
| Custom Objects |
Objects looking up to company records containing the GSID of the Secondary Company will be updated with the GSID of the Master Company. Objects that do not have a look up to the Company object are not changed. |
| Reporting Filters | Filters containing the GSIDs of the Secondary Company will be replaced with that of the Master Company. |
| Rules Engine | GSID of the Secondary Company will be replaced by the GSID of the Master Company in filters, tasks and actions. |
| Scorecards | History of the Master Company is retained and the Secondary Company history is deleted. Scorecard resolver determines the scorecard configuration of the merged entity. |
| People Management | Company persons associated with the Secondary Company will be moved to the Master Company. |
| Email Assist | Tokens, Survey 2.0 responses and Reports associated with the Secondary Company will be associated with the Master Company. |
| Journey Orchestrator | Secondary Company references in Participants will get replaced with Master Company references. |
| Surveys | Survey responses associated with the Secondary Company will be associated with the Master Company. |
| Adoption Explorer | Usage data of the Secondary Company is moved to the Master company. |
| Notifications | Notification preferences set at the merged company are automatically moved to the Master company. |
| Customer Goals | All the Customer Goals from the merged company are moved to the Master company. |
360
Company Merge impacts the following areas for 360 pages:
- Master C360 Page: After Company Merge is completed, only the C360 page for the Master company will remain. This C360 page will display the merged data of the two companies. The C360 page for the secondary company will no longer be available.
- Relationships Move to Master Company: For information on Relationships, refer to the Relationships section.
- Sponsor Tracking: After Company Merge is completed, Sponsor profiles that were listed in the secondary company’s C360 > Sponsor Tracking page will be displayed in the Master Company’s C360 > Sponsor Tracking page.
Timeline
When two companies are merged, all of the timeline entries from the merged company are moved to the Master company’s timeline.
Note: It’s not possible currently to select which timeline entries are moved. All timeline entries will move to the Master company when a Company Merge is completed.
Data Management
Company Merge impacts the following areas for Data Management:
- During a Company Merge, GSID fields that lookup to the company object will be updated so that if they had the Secondary company's GSID, it will be replaced by the GSID of the Master company. This prevents failures for any rules or reports that use these lookups.
- GSID fields that do not lookup to the company object will not be updated during company merge, even if they contain the Secondary company's GSID. This is to prevent GSIDs being rewritten in the event that customers are using objects to store GSIDs.
Reports and Dashboards
Company Merge impacts the reporting filters. When two companies are merged, you can only see the Master company in the Reporting filters. For example, if you have merged companies named ABC and AIVA, where ABC is the master company, you can only see ABC in the Reporting filters.
This behavior is the same for Dashboards and other areas of reporting.
Relationships
If Relationships are enabled in your org, then all the Relationships associated with the secondary company moves to the master company during a Company Merge. For example, if the master company (M1) has four associated Relationships, and the secondary company (S1) has five associated Relationships then the master company (M1) will have nine Relationships associated after the Company Merge.
Cockpit and Success Plans
Company Merge impacts CTAs and Success Plans. When two companies are merged, all the CTAs and Success Plans, including their Tasks and Objectives, associated with the secondary company are moved under the master company. The master company displays the list of all the CTAs and Success Plans that are merged to it.
Notes:
- CTAs and Success Plans with all the statuses such as Open, Active, Draft and Closed are moved to the master company.
- Relationship CTAs along with Relationships are moved to the master company. The Relationships that are moved under the master company now displays the list of all the CTAs and Success Plans.
Email Assist
Company Merge impacts Tokens, Surveys, and Reports in Email Templates. When two companies are merged, you can see that all of the Tokens, Surveys responses, and Reports associated with the secondary company are now associated with the master company. The master company now displays all of the Tokens, Surveys responses and Reports from both the secondary and master company.
Journey Orchestrator
When two companies are merged, Child company references in participants will get replaced with parent company references.
If the participants who have already entered the journey will continue in the journey and return parent company reference for Query Builder Sync, Calculated Fields, and Conditional Wait if evaluated.
Scorecards
When you merge two companies, the master company’s history is retained. The secondary company’s Scorecard history, fact, and automated activities are all deleted. However, manual activities created on the secondary company’s scorecard are retained in the master company’s timeline. If the secondary company had a relationship scorecard, this scorecard’s scorecard history, fact, and activities are reassigned to the parent company.
Once merged, the scorecard applicable to the master company as determined by the scorecard resolver, would be applicable from that point on.
Surveys
When two companies are merged, all the Survey responses associated with the secondary company will be associated with the master company. The master company displays all of the survey responses from both the secondary and master company. For example, if the company (C1) has 10 responses and the company (C2) has 15 responses, and you merge C1 with C2, where C1 is the master company, then company C1 ends up with 25 responses.
Notes:
- The Survey Email link that is distributed through JO or Gainsight Assist will work even after the companies are merged. The response collected through the old Survey Email link will belong to the master Company.
- The C360 page of the master company will display the merged responses of the two companies.
People Management
When you merge two companies, the Company ID of a person associated with the secondary company will be replaced with the Company ID of the master company in the Company Person object.
The Person record previously visible in the secondary company’s C360 > Person List View will now display in the master company’s C360 page.
For more information on the Person list view in the C360/R360 pages, refer to the Person Section in 360 article.
Note: If a person is associated with Company A and Company B, and Company B is merged with Company A, there will be two duplicate person records in the Company Person object for Company A.
Rules Engine
When you merge two companies, if the secondary company’s GSID is used in any rule, this field is automatically replaced with the master company’s GSID field. For example, if you merge Abbett and Acme Companies with Abbett as the master and if Acme company’s GSID is used in any rule, it is automatically replaced with Abbett company’s GSID.
- If you have used the secondary company’s GSID in a rule filter, it is automatically replaced with the master company’s GSID. However, if you have used the secondary company’s name instead of GSID in the filter, no records will be populated for the secondary company filter.
- If you have used the GSID of the secondary company in any task, it is replaced with the GSID of the master company.
- If the secondary company’s GSID is being used in the Action section of the rule, it is automatically replaced by the master company’s GSID.
Adoption Explorer
When two companies are merged, you can see that the usage data associated with the master company and secondary company are summarized under the master company. For instance, you have merged Companies named ABC and AIVA, where ABC is the master company, so going forward after the merge, you would see that the usage data associated with ABC and AIVA is summarized under the master company, i.e ABC. In the Layouts screen, you can no longer see the AIVA company under Company search.
IMPORTANT: Historical Usage data associated with the secondary company will be still stored in the Gainsight database, after the Company Merge is performed.
Notifications
When two companies are merged, all of the Notification preferences set at the merged company are automatically moved to the Master company. However, the notifications for the events that were received earlier, before the merge, display the name of the merged company. If the user clicks the merged company name, it redirects to the C360 page of the master company.
Customer Goals
When two companies are merged, all the Customer Goals from the merged company are moved to the Master company. once the merge is complete, all the goals will be visible on the C360 page of the Master company.
Renewal Center
Limitations:
- When two companies are merged, the Company Forecast records associated with the merged company are not moved to the Master company.
- When two companies are merged, the merged company is available in the Global Filter of both the Company and Opportunity Views.
Customer Success Qualified Leads
Limitation: When two companies are merged, the Lead records of the merged company are not moved to the Master company.